Leading Second Podcast

In this episode of our series on “Healthy Hustle,” our goal is to break down the dichotomy between hard work and rest, equipping you to run at a sustainable pace in this season. But before we even get to that conversation, Taylor Persello hops on and lists 5 gifts that we can give our Pastors. They’re simple, they’re actionable, and they will propel you forward in your leadership if you apply them today. Following that, my friend Jonathan O’Reilly, an executive pastor at The Rock in Kansas City, MO, joins me in a conversation with Pace Hartfield! Pace was an incredible second chair leader for years, and he now pastors One Place Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The three of us chase down the question of “how can I avoid burnout?”

For the second episode in our series on Healthy Hustle, I sit down with Colleen Tunis. My friend Rachel Buckner joins us as well, as we talk about staying healthy while leading in a fast-paced environment and the tension between health and hustle. Colleen leads as the programming director at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. She is just a wealth of knowledge and perspective, and she carries the weight of ministry so generously.

Depression, anxiety, panic, suicidal thoughts… mental health is a bit of a buzzword right now, but what happens when you experience any of these first hand? We try to tackle so much on our own, but we do get confronted with these genuine issues. When that happens, do you have the courage to raise your hand and say, “I’m dealing with _____ right now.”? Is that even the right thing to do? And if it is, who do you say it to? This week we are kicking off a series called Healthy Hustle. How do we maintain health in all areas of life when we are constantly trying to hustle? I couldn’t think of a better person to start this conversation with than Troy Maxwell. Troy has been on the podcast once before, but if you aren’t very familiar with him, he launched Freedom House Church in Charlotte, NC, where he and his wife Penny have been serving for 19 years. We wanted to explore the question, “What if my emotional health has me leading on empty?” Troy has a conversation with me today where he opens up about his own personal experiences with panic attacks. He shares how they affected his life, and he talks through how to overcome these seasons or struggles in your own life. He wrote a book called Panic Room, which he talks a little about but if you’d like to hear even more from him on this subject, I highly recommend picking it up. Anybody leading on empty right now because of emotional health, this doesn’t have to be your story anymore. I pray that this episode shows people that they aren’t alone in what they are walking through. I pray that it gives people strength. And I pray that it provides some leaders courage to raise their hand if they need to and talk to their pastor about what they are going through. Run strong this week, but run healthy Brandon Resources: Panic Room by Troy Maxwell After the episode: What do you do to ensure that your mental and emotional health stays strong?

If we’ve ever had an episode that’s worth coming back to multiple times, this is it. I had a conversation with a man who has had a profound impact on my life, impacted many churches around the world, and does the best Brian Houston impersonation that I’ve ever heard. Pastor John Morgan joins us for a potentially life-changing episode about transition and how to transition well. My friend Kelly Goff and I got a chance to sit down with John while he was actually walking through a potential transition in his life, going from a volunteer staff role (while his wife Anna is on the executive team) to picking up his family and moving near Washington DC to pastor Word of Life International in Springfield, VA. John has been in ministry for over 35 years and has managed to transition so well multiple times, so it seemed fitting and natural for our conversation to just go there and speak some wisdom into moments or seasons of transition. Here are the things that we cover in today’s episode: John takes us through an overview of transitions that he has been through The importance of transitions and doing them well Planning for transition before it comes time to actually transition How do you help people process a “God told me.” Transitions in, are just as important as the transition out What does a healthy transition look like? It is always such an incredible opportunity to sit down with John. He is just a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in ministry. Even if you’re not currently going through a transition, you will eventually, and it is so important that we know how to do it well. Run strong this week, Brandon Editor's note: John has, in fact, gone to the darkside and is no longer a number 2. He is officially the lead pastor of Word of Life Church, so go on his Instagram and tell him congrats!

We are back with our second episode of this fall season, and it has felt great to get back in the groove of things. Before we dive into this week’s conversation, we had a great listener question come in this week from Matt Bowden at Zeal Church in Nashville, Tennessee. It sheds some light on church hurt. If that is something you’ve experienced or are currently experiencing, I want to encourage you to know the difference between playing hurt and playing injured. You don’t want to skip this question and answer. Well, our guest this week is no stranger at all in this space. He has been such a strong voice in this season, and honestly, I just never get tired of talking to him. My good friend Joshua Bingle, Pastor of Genesis Church in Spokane, WA, is back with us! The big question that we try to tackle today is how to disagree well. It isn’t a sexy topic, but this is such a needed conversation today. We’ve forgotten how to argue, and we have developed an inability to confront because ideas and people have become woven together. So we are going to talk about: How to separate ideas from people The difference between arguing and quarreling Talking to non-believers vs. believers Moralizing and demonizing Josh is brilliant in this conversation, and I know you will walk away with a perspective shift after this episode. Run strong this week, Brandon After the episode: What area of how you disagree with others hit home for you? How do you separate people from the ideas that they may hold?

Leading Second tribe!! Summer break is over, and we are back for the second half of season four, releasing new episodes every Thursday this fall. Well, if you haven’t gotten enough of Team Church Conference over the past 24 hours, we are kicking things off in a big way! We are joined by a panel of Executive Pastors and Campus Pastors that all came out to Team Church conference this August, and I had the pleasure of sitting down with them in the lobby for a conversation. We want to switch some episodes up this fall, and this is one of them, where the panel is actually going to ask me some questions that they have about leading in this season. My guests today are from some great churches all over the country. I’m joined today by Matt Kysor from Centerpoint Church in Chillicothe, OH, Kaisa Freeman from The Well Church in Salt Lake City, UT, Andrew Shaw from Velocity Church in Lawrence, KS, Emily Hanks from Christian Life Church in Murfreesboro, TN, and Josiah Beougher from Storyside Church in Belleville, OH. We kick things off just by going around the table and talking takeaways from Team Church Conference. Then we get into some questions: As second chair leaders, what do we need to instill in the next generation in order to pass the baton well? How do we preserve unity and stay in alignment with our lead pastors? We starts with me, so what are some of the characteristics or habits that a second chair leader needs for this next season? In supporting our lead pastors, how do we honor where we’ve been and support them best in where we’re going? How do we create a sense of urgency in our church and for our teams to run fast, and at the same time, ensure that our lead pastors are healthy and can run the race for a long time? This was such a fun episode to kick things back off with, and I hope you enjoyed it and had some things you took away from this conversation. I pray that it helps you run strong, Brandon Resources Mentioned: Team Church Conference - www.teamchurchconference.com Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman

I’m joined for this conversation by Pastor Jabin Chavez. If you’ve been in the church world for very long, I’m sure you’re familiar with him, but for years Jabin has been serving churches all over the country. He is probably best known as a worship pastor and gifted communicator. Still, my favorite thing about Jabin, as I’ve gotten to know him over the years, is his heart for the local church. He’s also served as a youth and young adult pastor, an intern director, creative director, and even as a janitor! Anything he can do to serve, he’s all in. In 2018, he and his wife Shanen took on a new challenge… they launched City Light Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been a thriving young church, but they haven’t been immune to the challenges that 2020 brought all of us. I loved getting to talk through some of those with him, but there are specific values that we shouldn’t let slip away and things that we need to fight for. In saying that, our big question this week is, “In our desire to move church forward, what are the things that we need to get back to?” Some of the other questions that we cover in our conversation are: What are your thoughts on people leaving? What can people do that would be meaningful and valuable in holding their pastor’s arms up? What are some values that are important for our churches today? What is your biggest prayer for the local church today? I love any opportunity that I get to sit down with a lead pastor and hear things from their perspective, so I pray that this gives you some insight into a pastor’s mind in this season and helps remind you of some of the foundational pieces we need as leaders. Run strong for the Kingdom, Brandon After the episode: Are there areas in your life that you’ve maybe let slip a little and you need to get back to? How is your prayer life right now? Are you praying for your teams? Your pastors? Your church? SUBSCRIBE COMMENT LIKE & SHARE We want you in our tribe! Stay connected to all Leading Second has to offer: Website: leadingsecond.com Instagram: instagram.com/leadingsecond Connect with Brandon Stewart Facebook: facebook.com/brandonmstewart Instagram: instagram.com/brandonmstewart Leading Second is an extension of the Team Church tribe. For more information on Team Church Conference and One Day events, check out teamchurchconference.com or search Team Church on Facebook.

20 years. June 3rd marks 20 years since my first Sunday as a youth pastor in Minnesota, and that came just days after graduating from ministry school. 3 1/2 years there, 10 years on staff at my home church, and then launching Leading Second while serving both my home church and the “big C” church. In all this time, I’ve picked up a couple lessons along the way that I think can impact your life and your ministry, so I wanted to take the time to share some of those. If you and I sat down for a coffee to talk about what I’ve learned in 20 years, these are many of the thoughts I would share. I believe there is something in here for everybody. I talk about individual growth, teams, and family. So I hope you enjoy this and find something in this episode that you can apply to your own life. Thank you to everybody that has given me wisdom, encouraged me, and walked with me through any, or all, of these 20 years. Brandon SUBSCRIBE COMMENT LIKE & SHARE We want you in our tribe! Stay connected to all Leading Second has to offer: Website: leadingsecond.com Instagram: instagram.com/leadingsecond Connect with Brandon Stewart Facebook: facebook.com/brandonmstewart Instagram: instagram.com/brandonmstewart Leading Second is an extension of the Team Church tribe. For more information on Team Church Conference and One Day events, check out teamchurchconference.com or search Team Church on Facebook.

Anna Morgan is always such a treat to have any time she comes on the podcast! She is a constant and continual learner, she has such a great heart for the church and leaders, and I just count it as such a privilege to have her and her husband in our world. If you’re not familiar, Anna is on the executive team at City Church Chicago, is married to our friend John Morgan (if you haven’t listened to his most recent episode with us this past fall, it is worth your time to go back and listen to), and she champions women in ministry so well in many different ways. The one big question that we will try to answer in this conversation is, “How should I carry myself as a leader?” In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul tells us to “live a life worthy of the calling we have received.” If we are to lead others toward maturity, shouldn’t we be setting the example for that? And if we are, what does that even look like? At a time where it is more and more popular to view self as authority, it’s getting easier to forget that we are to submit ourselves to Christ in everything we do? We tackle these topics of authority, being authentic, and submission, but also get into some of these questions: Are you concerned with some of the conduct that you are currently seeing? What are you seeing from church leaders currently on social media that is concerning you? How important are seasons of prep? What have you observed from people (leaders especially) who create posts and online content that ends up showing a gap between themselves and their pastor? I hope and pray that this episode leaves an impact on you and leaves you wanting to put some extra thought into how you conduct yourself as a leader. Run strong this week, Brandon Resources: https://firmisrael.org https://israelu.org Ruth Haley Barton Pete Scazzero Leading From The Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson After the episode: How can you carry yourself differently this week as a leader? How can you live a life worthy of the calling you have received? How clean is your car? “Should my church have a say about what I post online?” SUBSCRIBE COMMENT LIKE & SHARE We want you in our tribe! Stay connected to all Leading Second has to offer: Website: leadingsecond.com Instagram: instagram.com/leadingsecond Connect with Brandon Stewart Facebook: facebook.com/brandonmstewart Instagram: instagram.com/brandonmstewart Leading Second is an extension of the Team Church tribe. For more information on Team Church Conference and One Day events, check-out teamchurchconference.com or search Team Church on Facebook.

The big question we’re going to wrestle through on this episode is this: What could healthy team culture look like moving forward? In a season where it seems like everything has changed, some things remain constant - and the need for healthy team culture is undoubtedly at the top of that list. Today we’re going to talk to a team I highly respect in so many ways — the Life.Church team, under the leadership of Craig Groeschel has grown to be one of the most influential churches in the world. But what I appreciate so much is WHY they have gained influence. Their approach to ministry, commitment to health, and generous heart have won them my respect. We have two segments for you today with this team, and I’m so excited for you to hear from them… Part 1 is with Kyle Kutter. Kyle is the Central Group Leader of Digital Technology. If you are familiar with Open Network, Church Online Platform, Church Metrics, or Develop.me, Kyle has had his hands on them all (also, if you’re not familiar with them, I cannot recommend all of these enough). Here is some of what we talk about: Talk to us a bit about Open Network and your church’s heart to resource the “big C” church. What do you see about the church that is recalibrating right now? From a church that has pioneered digital gatherings for churches, is there still a place for physical gatherings? What lessons should we take with us coming out of this season? What about the local church has given you hope? For the second part of our episode today, we focus on their team culture and what makes their team so special. Both members of part two have been at Life.Church for over 10 years and that kind of longevity cannot be bought or shortcut to. Rachel Ricker is the Central Group Ministry Leader for Host Team. Sam Marin is the campus pastor for Edmond, OK, which is the broadcast location. Here’s where our conversation leads us: What do you feel is most special about your house and the culture of it? And what do you hope people remember about your church? What is so special about the culture of your team? What is the difference in carrying culture at a broadcast location vs. a remote location? What do you tell yourself when feedback is coming your way? What does being a culture carrier mean to you? Is there a time where you got it wrong with being a culture carrier? I was so excited to get a chance to sit down with this group of leaders from one of the most influential churches globally and have also had such a profound impact on my own life. Run Strong this week, Brandon After the episode: Evaluate how you carry the culture of your own church. How can you better carry it to your teams? SUBSCRIBE COMMENT LIKE & SHARE We want you in our tribe! Stay connected to all Leading Second has to offer: Website: leadingsecond.com Instagram: instagram.com/leadingsecond Connect with Brandon Stewart Facebook: facebook.com/brandonmstewart Instagram: instagram.com/brandonmstewart Leading Second is an extension of the Team Church tribe. For more information on Team Church Conference and One Day events, check-out teamchurchconference.com or search Team Church on Facebook.